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Science News for December 21, 2008


New 'smart' materials for the brain

Carbon nanotubes form extremely tight contacts with neuronal cell membranes, creating shortcuts between neurons for enhanced excitability. This breakthrough has the potential to treat traumatic brain injuries, Parkinson's disease, and severe depression by bypassing faulty brain wiring.

SourceEcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne·JournalNature Nanotechnology·DateDec 21, 2008

Snails and humans use same genes to tell right from left

Researchers have identified genes controlling snail shell handedness, similar to those used by humans to set up left-right asymmetry. These findings suggest that the same genetic pathway has been responsible for establishing left-right symmetry in animals for 500-650 million years.

SourceUniversity of California - Berkeley·JournalNature·DateDec 21, 2008
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Ancient African exodus mostly involved men, geneticists find

Researchers have found that men outnumbered women in the ancient African exodus, tracing variations in X chromosomes and non-sex chromosomes to support their conclusion. The study's lead author notes that these findings align with anthropologists' teachings on hunter-gatherer populations.

SourceHarvard Medical School·JournalNature Genetics·DateDec 21, 2008

Two cardiovascular proteins pose a double whammy in Alzheimer's

Researchers have discovered that two cardiovascular proteins, SRF and myocardin, work together in the brain's blood vessels to decrease blood flow and impair amyloid beta removal. Studies in human cells and mice show that these proteins increase toxic amyloid beta levels, contributing to Alzheimer's disease.

SourceUniversity of Rochester Medical Center·JournalNature Cell Biology·DateDec 21, 2008

Patient-derived induced stem cells retain disease traits

Scientists have successfully recreated the hallmarks of a genetic disorder in a lab dish using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells, which can now be used to study and develop new therapies for genetic diseases. The disease-specific cells retain the same traits as those affected in patients with spinal muscular atrophy, allow...

SourceUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison·JournalNature·DateDec 21, 2008
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